She stepped forward and offered me her hand. The fact that the sweet smile on her lips was meant for another man made me impatient and boorishly rough. I reached up, grabbed her around the waist and tugged her off the edge, lifting her down off the boat.
She gave a startled noise and clutched my wrists until her feet hit the dock.
“I could have climbed down.”
I was still feeling a bit riled, so I used that as an excuse to touch her more. I grabbed her hand and yanked her toward the shore. “Move.”
“Bossy,” she murmured, but her hand clung to mine, holding me as tight as I held her.
The Chau Doc docks were connected to the bus station and a taxi stand. I hailed a taxi and opened one door, making Blaire climb in. I wore my baseball hat low and a pair of sunglasses. Blaire had a scarf wrapped around her hair and a pair of oversized sunglasses on her face. Leave it to her to look like a fashion queen for less than ten dollars.
“Ho Chi Minh,” I told the driver, once we’d both climbed in.
“One hundred forty dollars, cash only.”
I nodded and handed him half. “How long?”
He pulled the cab into traffic. “Maybe three or four hours.”
“There is an extra forty for you if you get us there safely in three hours.”
He looked at me in the rearview mirror. “Yes, I can do that.”
“No accidents allowed.”
Blaire was looking down at the seat. “Where are the seat belts?”
The driver shook his head. “You don’t need them. I’m a very good driver. I’ve only been in two accidents, and those weren’t my fault.”
She gave me a sideways look of horror that had me fighting a smile.
Chau Doc sat on the border between Vietnam and Cambodia, but the difference between the two countries was palpable. Vietnam felt modern and bustling, with a much more commercial vibe.
Distracted by horns honking, Blaire turned to watch the city pass by. “It’s beautiful here. There is so much going on that I barely know what to look at. It reminds me of parts of Europe.”
“Wait until Ho Chi Minh—it’s roughly fifty times bigger than this place.”
“And it’s the promised land of showers and food.”
“First, we have to find Tonko,” I warned her. “But if we manage to do that, I’ll rent you the best hotel room we can afford.”
“I can agree to those terms.”
She turned back to her window and watched the world flow and move around the cab. Bikes, rickshaws, motorcycles and truck beds drifted alongside us on the highway.
She didn’t look away from the window. “I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.”
“There’re no snakes in here.”
She looked at me to see if I was mocking her. I wasn’t. “Did you say this ride is three hours?”
“Or a little longer.”
“Do you mind if I have a nap?”
I planned on indulging in some light dozing myself. “Nope.”
She tried leaning her head back against the headrest but it was so low her head was at an awkward angle. She lifted her head. “Don’t suppose you have one of those airline neck pillows.”
“I’m fresh out.”
“Figures.”
“Lean forward.” I reached behind her and tried to pull up the headrest. It didn’t budge. “I think that’s welded in there.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “I don’t need it. I probably wouldn’t sleep anyway.”
But five minutes later, she was passed out cold, and her head was bobbing in a way that looked painful.
I put my arm along the seat behind her, trying to offer more head support. In her sleep, she made a soft mumble before she turned and tucked herself against me, like a baby bird tucking itself under a bigger bird’s wing.
That little move made something crack in my chest. I didn’t want to feel protective or concerned. I couldn’t afford to care, but that didn’t stop me from using my arm to shift her weight so more of her body was tucked securely against me.
Three hours later, the cab driver was slowly crisscrossing through an old neighborhood in Ho Chi Minh City. Without an address, I was relying on a decade-old memory. It didn’t help that it was piss-pouring rain and the morning light was gloomy at best. Everything looked gray and wet. I felt like I was trying to remember a faded, distant dream.
Beside me, Blaire was now sitting up, staring out the window. “There’s a convenience store. Can we stop and get something to eat?”
“I didn’t see any store.”
She pointed out the back of the cab. “It’s there, across the street.”
I looked behind me, and my memory was triggered. I had been to that store before. I remembered that crooked tree. “Stop the cab.”
“You’re letting me have food?”
“Come on.” I paid the driver before hustling her out of the cab. We stood in the rain while I studied the store from across the street. The memory was faint, teasing my mind. I couldn’t remember why, but I had a sense we needed to head down the side alley.
“This way.”
She planted herself. “What about the store?”
“We’re in a hurry.”
“The store is right there,” she complained.
“On our way back, okay?”
She made an exasperated sound, but she trudged after me. Within seconds, we were mostly soaked. After we walked down the alley, we came across a small apartment hidden from the street.
This is it. I rang the buzzer, and, when no one answered, I pounded on the door.
A few moments later, a beefy guy who was tall enough to meet me eye to eye pushed open the door.
“I’m here to see Tonko.”
“He’s not here.”
He tried to slam the door shut, but I jammed my foot in the doorjamb. I wrestled the door open wider with my hand. “This is an emergency.”
“Doesn’t matter. He’s not here.”
This guy needed to start talking, or we’d have to settle this conversation a different way. “Tell him it’s Pushka.”
The guy didn’t even blink before he slammed the door shut. I heard the lock click.
We stood waiting in the pounding rain. The water streamed off the edges of Blaire’s straw hat, keeping only her neck and face dry. The rest of her shivered against the coolness of the rain. “Is he coming back?”
“Don’t speak.”
She stopped speaking, but she huffed and puffed enough to let me know exactly what she thought of my rude demand.
Five minutes later, the door opened a crack. He shoved a piece of paper out the door and rasped, “He moved to Da Nang. He says Pushka is welcome any day of his life.”
He slammed the door in our faces a second time.
Her voice was small. “What just happened?”
I looked at her with regret. “Where did you say that typhoon is going to hit?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
BLAIRE
We were walking down another street. Ahead of me, Viktor was checking every vehicle, while I tiredly trailed after him, eating the chicken satay he had bought me at the convenience store.